Solid state drives or SSD’s have slowly been taking over the duties that previous Hard disk drives or HDD’s. But most consumers wouldn’t know the difference other than knowing that SSD’s are much faster and are the new tech in storage drives. But how does SSD really work? Here are some things you need to know in order to understand.

What’s behind the change?

Speed is essentially the main reason for the transition from HDD to SDD. Traditional hard drives are made with a metal platter that spins at very fast speeds. An actuator arm with read/write heads attached at one end moves and positions above the spinning platter to read or write information. The moving parts put a limit on how fast hard drives work.

The latency, or the time interval or delay between input and response in a system, is quite large. For comparison, the latency for hard disk drives are measured in milliseconds while latency in CPU’s are measured in nonoseconds. With a millisecond equivalent to a million nanoseconds, the difference can eventually affect the efficient performance of newer computers. That is the main reason why there needs to be a faster and more efficient storage. Hence, the arrival of SSD’s.

What are they?

Solid state drives or SSD’s store memory inside semiconductor chips. Compared to Hard disk drives or HDD’s, SSD’s do not rely on moving parts to store or transfer data. This makes them more stable in a way are not prone to mechanical breakdown. They also are faster in terms of reading and writing memory. This makes it more ideal for the newer processors that are coming out. One of its disadvantages for now is that SSD’s are more expensive than traditional hard disks. But as the technology captures the attention of manufactures, it may someday even the become the storage drive of choice for many people nowadays as the HDD will eventually go the way of the floppy disks of old.